Manufacture of staple fiber yarns from continuous filaments



April 13, 1937. w. l. TAYLOR ET AL 7,

MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE FIBER YARNS FROM CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS Fil ed Aug. 25, 1954 Ha. I

Patented Apr. 13, 1937 1 UNITED- STATES MANUFACTURE I OF PATENT oFFicE STAPLE- FIBER YARNS FROM CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS' William Ivan Taylor and Leslie Brisbane Gibbins, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of Delaware Application August 25 of America, a corporation 1934', Serial No. 741,434

in Great Britain September 5, 1933 8 Claimsbe converted into uniform staple lengths, which ar'e'then treaited in-a manner analogous to that employed wi h natural staple fiber materials such as wool or cotton. Alternatively a thread or bundle (hereinafter referred to as a bundle) of continuous filaments'may be broken or severed into F staple lengths at points which are distributed along the length of the bundle insuch a manner that the bundle is not completely severed at any point, but retains to some degree its original continuity, andcan then be treated either as a roving or twisted directly into a spun yarn. The:,staple'.fiber s into which the continuous filaments are converted vary somewhat in length, and-this. fact is apt to lead t6 the presence in the final yarn of shortfibers which are not long enough to be bound into theyarn and which-adhere to or protrude from the surface of the yarn, giving it a hairyor fiufiy ap- 26 pearance, and moreover are hable easily to become detached from the yarn or from the fabric into which it is manufactured. It is an object of the present invention to reduce as far as pos- 3 sible the proportionof short fibers in the finished spun yarn. I

It has now been found that loose, short fibers can be removed from the continuous product obtained by this latter method, by subjecting such' product to the action of a stream'of air.

According -.to the present invention, therefore, a bundle of continuous filaments is converted into a continuous product containing staple fibers, and the product is subjected to the action of one 40 or more gaseous streams to remove from such rected against the fibrous product so as to blow 50 away the loose fibers, or may be generated by suction so as to extract or draw the loosefibers out of, and away from, the fibrous product.

A method of converting a bundle of continuous filaments into yarn containing staple fibers, to

which the present invention is especially appli- In the production of spun yarns} from 'continuous filaments the continuous filaments may cable is described in the specification of U. S. application 5. No. 726,264 filed May 18, 1934.

- According to that specification a bundle of continuous filaments is passed over a cutting surface face exerts a cutting action on filaments in the bundle. Thecutting surface may take the form of a cutting roller on to "which the bundleof filaments is lightly pressed by means of another roller. e t

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention an air jet may be arranged at any convenient pointalong the length of the product after the'continuous filaments have been converted into staple fibers. More than one air jet may bedirected against the product, and in deciding the number of jet's to be used, due account'should betaken of the strength of the stream to be applied. Thus, if it is only desired to remove the shortest fibers, a relatively feeble blastumay be employed and this maybe repeated at different positions to ensure the removal of all or substantially all the fibers that it is desired to eliminate.

.If any operation is to be performed .upon the product which might .tnd to bind the short should act upon the product before such treatment. Thus for example, where the product is on to which it is lightly pressed so that the surlengths of fibers to the product, the air jets to be treated with an oil or other conditioningtion with that described in U. S. application:

present'in the product after its conversion from continuous filaments are dealt with, and a. clean and flufiiness is produced.

The invention is applicable to the production of spun yarns from continuous filaments generally, e.- g. filaments of natural silk or of recon-f stituted cellulose such as viscose or cuprammonium artificial silk. The invention is, however, oi more especial importance in connection with yarn substantially free from objectionable beard 9 In Fig. 3, the bundle 5. is

5 moved, as yarns of cotton, or regenerated cellulose. In addition to cellulose acetate other examples of cellulose derivatives are other cellulose esters, e. g. cellulose formate, propionate and butyrate and cellulose ethers, e. g. ethyl or benzyl cellulose. Mixed yarns consisting of filaments of different materials, e. g. any of those described above may also be employed.

By way of example, some forms of apparatus according to the invention will now be described 15 in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a form of apparatus in which jets of air are directed against the fibrous product, and 5 2 Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are similar views of forms of apparatus described in U. S. application S. No. 726,264, to which the present invention has been applied.

In Fig.1, a bundle of continuous filaments 5 passes successively between two pairs of rollers 6, I, 8, 9 the rollers 8, 9 rotating faster than the rollers 6, 1 so that the filaments are drawn in tension between the two pairs of rollers and caused to break and form a continuous staple 30 fiber product l0, which issues from the rollers 8, 9. In order to remove any unduly short fibers formed by this method, two air nozzles H, l2 are provided, the nozzle l I blowing into the nip of the rollers 6,.1 and the nozzle l2 into the nip of the rollers 8, 9. The nozzles" II and I2 are provided from a common air supply pipe l3, and are preferably of such form as to project a flat stream or blast of air, acting on a substantial length of the staple fiber product. and I2 may be in the form of batswing or fish- "tail gas burner nozzles.

In Fig. 2, the bundle of continuous filaments 5 passes over a roughened roller l5 having a cutting surface against which it is lightly pressed by means of a. roller l6, and then proceeds downwardly to a'further pair of rollers l1, l8, the roller I! being roughened like the cutting roller IS. The rollers l1, l8 grip the filaments and cause them to slip between the rollers l5, l6, whereby filaments in the continuous bundle are severed to form staplefibers. In order to remove short staple fibers formed by this method, three nozzles 20, 2|, 22 are provided, fed from a common supply pipe 23 which in turn is supplied from a header 24 serving a number of sets of rollers l5, l5, I1, l8, each dealing with a bundle of continuous filaments 5. A cock 25 is provided to out 0115 the supply of air from the header to the pipe 23.

drawn by means of a pair of rollers l1, l8'between a roller- 26 and a band 21 having a cutting surface of sandpaper,

carborundum or other sharp edged material, the

band 21 being supported byguide rollers 28.

Air nozzles 29 are directed against the staple fiber product In fprmedwby the cutting action of the band 21, the nozzles 29 being supplied from the pipe 23 and a header 2%.

In Fig. 4, thebundle of continuous filaments 5 is drawn by means of rollers l'l, l8 between a roughened cutting roller 3i and a pressure member 32 which lightly presses the bundle 5 on to the cutting roller 3i. Again, air nozzles .29 are provided, fed from a common supply pipe 23, in

Thus the nozzles if order to blow from the yarn any unduly short staple fibers which may be formed.

It will be understood that while the various air supply pipes and nozzles are described as blowing air at the fibrous material, such apparatus could be adapted to suck air'through or past the material to extract short fibers therefrom. The header 24 would thus serve as a suction header, and could conveniently be adapted to conduct the extracted fibers to a suitable receiver.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Apparatus for the production of staple fiber yarns, comprising means for converting a bundle of continuous filaments directly into acontinuous product containing staple fibers by severing continuous filaments ofthe bundle, and means for directing a gaseous stream against said product to remove therefrom loose short fibers contained therein.

2. Apparatus for the production of staple fiber yarns, comprising a movable cutting surface, means for causing a bundle of continuous filaments to move over said surface, means for pressing the bundle against the surface, means for causing the surface to move at a speed difierent from the speed of the bundle and means for directing against the said bundle after passage over the cutting surface a gaseous stream toremove from said bundle short loose fibers contained therein.

3. Apparatus for the production of staple fiber yarns, comprising a rotatable cutting roller, means for causing a bundle of continuous 'filaments to move over the periphery of said roller, a rotatable roller for pressing the bundle against said cutting roller, means for causing said cutting roller to rotate at a peripheral speed difierent from the speed of the bundle so that said cutting roller exerts a cutting action on filaments in the bundle, and means for directing against said bundle after passage over the cutting roller -a gaseous stream to remove from said bundle short loose fibers contained therein.

taining staple fibers, the steps of converting a bundle of continuous filaments into a continuous product containing staple fibers by severing continuous filaments of the bundle, and concomitantly with such conversion directing a gaseous stream against said product to remove loose short fibers therefrom.

5. In a process for the production of yarn containing staple fibers, the steps" of converting a bundle of continuous filaments of cellulose acetate or other organic derivative of cellulose into a continuous product containing staple fibers, by severing continuous filaments of the bundle, and concomitantly with such conversion directing a gaseous stream against said product to removeloose short fibers therefrom.

'6. 'In a process for the production of yarn containing staple fibers, the steps of converting a bundle of continuous filaments into a continuous product containing staple fibers by severing continuous filaments of the bundle, and concomitantly with such conversion directing a gaseous stream against said product to remove loose short fibers therefrom, and twisting and winding said product into yarn.

7. In a-process for the production of yarn containing'staple 'fibers, the steps of converting a bundle of continuous filaments into a continuous tinuous filaments of the bundle, and concomitantly with such conversion directing a plurality of gaseous streams against said product at points along its length to remove loose short fibers from said product.

8. In a process for the production of yarn containing staple fibers, the steps of converting a bundle of continuous filaments into a continuous product containing staple fibers by severing continuous filaments of the bundle, and concomi tantly with such conversion directing a gaseous stream against saidproductto remove loose short fibers therefrom, and then applying to said product an adhesive material so as to cause beard projecting from the surface of said product to lie down and adhere to the body of said product.

- WILLIAM IVAN TAYLOR.

LESLIE BRISBANE GIBBINS. 

